Each year, norovirus causes 19-21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis on average in the U.S., leading to outpatient and emergency room visits and, in some cases, death. Norovirus is a very contagious virus that can quickly and easily spread on a cruise ship where people are in close proximity.

To prevent a norovirus outbreak from wreaking havoc on a cruise line’s reputation, it’s important to address hand hygiene risks and know how to identify an effective hand sanitizing solution.

Over the course of the day, hands can become soiled with numerous types of bacteria, which can then be transferred to other people and high-touch surfaces. To prevent the spread of infection, it’s important for everyone, and especially employees in the foodservice, hospitality/cruise and healthcare industries, to practice proper and regular hand hygiene. Hand hygiene should be performed with soap and water or hand sanitizer if soap and water are unavailable.

I remember the days of watching my children scramble to get ready for school in the mornings. Like many parents, the rush to make the bus or get to school by the first bell included packing a healthy lunch. Years later, the challenge became preparing my daughters for college and dorm living with a supply of convenience foods like noodles and fruit cups.

Handwashing is a critical routine for preventing the spread of bacteria that can lead to foodborne illness, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and other unpleasant ailments. Yet, hand hygiene compliance rates are far from perfect. Organizations that have gaps in hand hygiene compliance open themselves up to considerable risk, such as negative publicity, lawsuits, fines, business closures and more. In order to protect your brand, it’s important to understand several barriers to hand hygiene and solutions for alleviating them.

I recently bought a waffle maker online. It was sent to me in the exact same box the manufacturer uses for displaying it on a store shelf, but with a little extra tape. No surprise that it showed up at my house bumped, bruised and broken.

Predictive analytics and the use of big data aren’t necessarily new concepts. Scientists, business leaders, even government agencies, have scrutinized and studied their fields to better serve their client or bottom line for decades.

Today, the struggle is not gathering massive amounts of data; it’s harnessing that data into meaningful and useful information to make our customers succeed. That is the key to business success and exactly why Sealed Air is no longer in the packaging and hygiene business. We are in the knowledge business.

In 1981, I was finishing my graduate work at Clemson University in South Carolina. My thesis was on optimization of packaging parameters to increase the shelf-life of fresh peaches and shredded lettuce. I was right down the road from what was then the R&D center for Cryovac. Utilizing the center’s materials for my research, I was very aware of the R&D capabilities. I hoped that my focus in packaging, food science and microbiology matched with Cryovac’s drive to be a leader in the food packaging sector.